In last week’s post, we discussed the surge in support for mobile innovation, and how digital technology can be used to strengthen and optimize CRM efforts, specifically within the Salesforce suite of applications. Yet, navigating the vast array of opportunity that defines this new landscape can often be the chief factor of concern for companies seeking to integrate mobile outreach into their existing marketing and contact management processes.
In fact, in an industry leading survey, Salesforce customers ranked mobile strategy as the top mobile challenge their organizations face. However, creating a mobile experience that meets user need and expectation while also facilitating business goals and positive outcomes doesn’t have to be daunting. It starts as all new initiatives do—with collaboration, organization and open communication around business aims and expectations.
How an organization decides to approach mobile development is an entirely individual decision and will vary by industry, objectives, customer base, and skill set, among other considerations. One way to get the best of all worlds may be to develop an app suite comprised of a variety of tools aimed at specific workflows rather than relying on one monolithic app to solve a variety of needs.
Salesforce offers three primary options for mobile application development with varying degrees of customization. First-party apps designed by Salesforce are the most standard, while off-the-shelf configurable apps and custom mobile apps offer greater degrees of flexibility. A solid mobile strategy examines these offerings against current organizational processes to determine which solution best fits internal needs and external expectations.
The crux of integrating mobile solutions into existing and ongoing Salesforce efforts lies in communication among thought leaders to ensure future deployments are successful and effective. Chief considerations include customer and employee moments that a mobile app will enhance, data sources the apps will connect to, development strategies (native, hybrid or web-optimized), overall design and function, business intelligence/analytics used to gauge effectiveness, and a forward-looking plan for managing ongoing releases.
Discussing topics such as these and achieving cohesive answers will help ensure mobile policies are designed with organizational best interests in mind, maximizing Salesforce investments and encouraging greater outreach and contact engagement.
If you’d like greater detail on the performance benefits users are seeing from Salesforce Mobile, we’d love to speak to you. In the meantime, to learn more about how our seasoned Salesforce consultants can deliver this functionality to your business, please contact any member of our consulting team at [email protected]. We also encourage you to contact Tokara’s VP of Business Development, Mark Fillingim, directly at +1 972-719-0213.
———————-
Sources:
Bluewolf, “State of Salesforce 2015 Report,” http://www.bluewolf.com/landingpage/sosf_report/
VentureBeat, “Salesforce Reboots its Mobile Experience (and Adds a Bunch of Dev Tools) with Salesforce1, November 17, 2013, http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/17/salesforce-reboots-its-mobile-experience-and-adds-a-bunch-of-dev-tools-with-salesforce1/